Cheesy Rice and Broccoli

This is a nice comfort food for us. We use this cheesy sauce in a bunch of recipes; macaroni and cheese, on top of toasted english muffins, on pizza, or even by itself as a dip. We had to experiment a fair amount with the recipe. Our first few attempts at a cheese-like sauce yielded light gray sauces akin to flavorless gravy. Here’s the recipe we’ve settled on and are quite happy with:

Vegan Cheesy Sauce

1/2 Cup Earth Balance
1/2 Cup White Flour (whole wheat also works)
2 Cups Soymilk
1/2 Can Tomato Paste
1/4 Cup Soy Sauce
1/2 Cup Nutritional Yeast
1 Tbs Stoneground Mustard
1 tsp Salt
2 tsp Tahini (optional)
Black Pepper to taste

Melt the earth balance in a sauce pan, then whisk in flour to make a roux. Let the roux bubble for a few minutes, then add half the soy milk and stir vigorously until no lumps appear, then add the second half of the milk and whisk until smooth. Add the remaining ingredients and stir over medium heat until thickened. This sauce needs to cook for a few moments or else the tomato paste will taste raw.

It will become very thick if you allow it, so take it off the heat when it reaches the desired consistency. If I’m making it for pizza or a dip, I’ll let it get quite thick, but if I’m making it to put over pasta or rice, I’ll make sure it’s thin enough to pour.

If you reduce this recipe by half, it will generously cover enough rice for two people (1 cup of rice, dry). We usually make a full batch so we can have leftovers to use the next day.

It probably won’t fool a cheese eater, but we find it to be tasty anyway! And besides, we know a few non-vegans who like the sauce, too.